Philip pethiciv



(No Model.)

W. E.'OLOUGH.

CUTTING APPARATUS FOR MOWERS.

N0.-360,374. Patented MaL'ZQ, 1887.

Invenfar. [1Z2]. CZaxyb Wz'in e was Unirnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLARD E. CLOUH, OF, CONCORD, NE\V HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT ANDMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF T\VO-THIRDS TO PHILIP PETHICK, OF SAME PLACE, ANDCHARLES D. AUSTIN, OF BROOKLINE, MASS.

CUTTENG APPARATUS FOR MOWERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 360,374, ted March 29,1887.

Application filed January 5, 1884. Serial No. 116,510. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Beit known that l, \VILLARD E. CLOUGH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Concord, in the county of Merrimac and Stateot NewHampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theCutting Apparatus for Mowers; and I hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to mowing and analogous machines, and has for itsobject to construct a cutting apparatus for machines of the kindmentioned, in which at no time will all the knives be idle nor at work,but different knives will be at work at different times.

I accomplish the object mentioned by the construction, combination, andrelationship of parts hereinafter described, so that others skilled inthe art may be able to make and use the same, reference being had. tothe accompanying drawings, and to the letters of refer ence markedthereon, forming a part of this specification, theinvention beingparticularly pointed out and distinctly claimed at the end of thedescription of its construction and operation.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the cutting apparatus,showing the relative position of the knives and guard-fingers when theformer are at one extreme limit of their reciprocal movement. Fig. 2 isalso a plan View of the same, in which the knives are shown to havetraveled to a point which is equal to half their entire stroke. Fig. 3is a like view showing the knives in the extreme limit of theirreciprocal movement opposite to thatin which they are represented inFig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in all of thefigures.

A represents the guard or finger bar, andB the guard-fingers. C is thecutter-bar, and D represents the knives,which are riveted in the usualmanner to said cutter-bar. E is a section or portion of a pitman-rod,and E the inner shoe.

In the drawings the machine is represented as provided with fourteenguard-fingers,B, and fifteen knives D, and in Fig. l the first knife (1)is hidden in the inner shoe, E, located equally distant from the firstguard-finger (1) as are the guard-fingers from each other,while thefifteenth knife (15) is exactly within the center of the thirteenthguard -finger (13), which brings the eighth knife (8) midway between thesixth and seventh guard-fingers, 5 5 (6 and 7 v In Fig. 2 the pitman-rodE has made half of its stroke, by which it will be seen that the eighthknife has reached the center of the seventh guard-finger, while thefirst knife has moved from the position shown, Fig. 1, halfway to thefirst guard-finger, and the fifteenth knife has reached a positionmidway between the thirteenth and fourteenth guard-fingers.

In Fig. 3 the pitman-rod E is represented as havingcompleted its strokeand brought the knives to the extreme limit of their movement oppositethat in which they are represented in Fig. 1, so that the tip or pointof that knife I will be brought substantially in line with the tip ofits corresponding guardfinger 1, and the center knife, 8, substantiallymidway between the two guard-fingers 7 and 8, nearest the center of theseries of guardfingers,while the tip or point of the fifteenth knifewill have reached a position substantially in line with the tip of thefourteenth guard-finger. Oonsequentlyin the operation of the machine allof the knives are not cut-ting at the same time, nor are all idle, as inmow- 8o ingmachines of common construction; but different knives will beat a work at different times.

It will be seen that by my improvements a continuously-cutting apparatusis provided in 8 5 which the power or force required to operate theknives is even at all times, for at no time will all the knives be idlenor all at work, and the same number of knives will be at work at alltimes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- In a cuttingapparatus for inowingmachines, the combination, with the fiugerbarprovided with a plurality ofguard-fingers ar- 5 ranged equidistant fromeach other, of a cutter-bar provided with knives one more in number thanthe number of fingers on the fingerbar, and also arranged equidistantfrom each the center knife shall be exactly midway beother, theconstruction and arrangement of tween the two guard-fingers nearest thecenter 10 the guard-fingers and knives being such that of saidfinger-bar, all as and for the purposes the distance from point to pointof the former hereinbefore set forth.

5 will be slightly greater than the distance from WILLARD E. CLOUGH.

point to point of thelatter, and that when the \Vitnesses: point ofeither end knife shall be exactly in J. B. THURSTON,

line with the tip of either end guard-finger VVM. M. CHASE.

